Thursday, April 26, 2007

I Wanna Hold Your Jazz Hands!

Mizz Liza M may be all about the Jazz hands in movies, but ma man Clint Eastwood is all about the Jazz Hands-on approach in his flicks. Well before he was master at the helm of the great Jazz bio pick "Bird", Clint-o-rama directed a way-nifty flick called "Play Misty for Me". Those rough and tumble hands that had previously steered horses' reins for those incredible spaghetti westerns, were put to use most majestically in "Misty", a flick that he guided so tightly that it was finished under budget, and four days ahead of schedule. But like many great, well sculpted Jazz pieces, the end result plays loose, fast, improv-ish, and supremely hip. Eastwood waived his usual acting fee in exchange for the go-ahead to direct the film, and as a result this tale of obsession gone wrong became stamped with Clint's jazz-love flava. Which is awesome. He threw in a scene of the Monterey Jazz Festival which may come across as a personal indulgence and may seem entirely out of context, but to me it simply fleshes out the coolness and desirability of the main protagonist (Clint, as hip-as-fuck late nite DJ Dave), who, like his favourite jazz music, is full of the free and full of the flow, muthafuckah (as Miles would say).

Even the love montage(I usually loathe LM's), is decent. Clint and his gal(who sports a saaa-weeet two-tier shag cut)get it on backed by a pastoral landscape and some melodramatic, shed-a-single tear Roberta Flack.

Check out the trailer. It's "Supermurgitroid"! Which is Jazz slang for really cool. For more funky Jazz slang go here.

Can someone please tell me if that dude from Magnum P.I. did the voice over for this trailer? Help, its gonna hang around, annoy,and bug me like a Murray the K around the Beatles until I find out.

One last thing while we are doing the slo-hang and rappin' about Jazz flicks. Make sure you watch the Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond. It is super boss. It's not really about Jazz, but whatevs. Watch the flick that almost caused Sir Larry Olivier's knighthood to be revoked, and where Mr. Diamond completely choked.

Allan! Hey! Thanks for the amazing email! Wow! Hey, the Every Which Way Ape flicks are hot! Much better than BJ and the Bear! LOL! Talk tomorrow! YAY!:)

SF! Jessica Walter is truly scary in this one...but so so good! Much better than Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction (Jessi's hair is much better than Glenn's gawdawful bleached out perm action). I did love Million Dollar Baby, but that's cuz I'm a Swank fan...she is incredible...great great Nancy Allen post by the way...again one of my faves! Dressed to Kill? Holla Holla! :)

Todd! Karen Valentine! OMG! I loved her...leave it to TaiC to pull out a superhip reference! The Donna Mills character that Clint actually was in love with in Misty had the Carol Brady short/long shag...a she-mullet, a shmullet that actually works! OOOO...I'm gonna rent the Coogan's Bluff this weekend (along with Cinderfella!. All you needed to do was mention "1968" and I'm IN...love those late 60's flicks to death! :)